In case any of you were living under a rock the last week or so, the NASCAR All-Star Race was this past weekend. There were a lot of surprises this weekend, including Jamie McMurray winning the race. But one of the biggest surprises this weekend was who ended up winning the Fan Vote to get into the big show. Josh Wise, driver for the No. 98 Dogecoin Chevy SS, for Phil Parsons Racing, won the fan vote over household name Danica Patrick. This was a big moment for the 31 year-old driver from Riverside, California, as he got to race in one of the biggest NASCAR events of the season, and he can thank the Dogecoin community for this.

For those who aren't familiar with Dogecoin, it's a form of cryptocurrency (you should probably Google it, as it does a better job of explaining the term than I would) that is sort of like PayPal or Bitcoin. It was the first cryptocurrency that was based off an Internet meme, Doge, a Shiba Inu (Be sure to look him up, the memes are funny). Dogecoin has a huge following on the Internet, and so much so that there is an entire Reddit community based on it.

The connection between Josh Wise and Dogecoin is truly a Cinderella story in itself. It took one 16 year-old fan who believed in Wise enough that he began a campaign on Dogecoin's Reddit site to raise money to fund him. This campaign raised over $55,000 in Dogecoins (not sure what it is in US currency), which is amazing. Dogecoin also became the sponsor for Wise starting at Talladega, where he secured a top-20 finish. The community also launched another campaign to get Josh Wise enough fan votes to get into the All-Star race. This helped Wise beat out big names such as Danica Patrick, Ricky Stenhouse, Jr., and Austin Dillon. When it was announced to Wise that he won the vote, he was so astonished that he was at a loss for words. Things like this is what makes the sport so special.

It is amazing how much leverage you can have on social media nowadays, especially making one NASCAR driver's dreams come true. Josh Wise is a talented guy who deserved this. This is why I and many other people are a fan of this sport. Most fans will go above and beyond for their driver to get the credit they deserve, and that is truly amazing. I think that with the support that Josh Wise has from the Dogecoin community, he will continue to amaze people with his talent. I am so happy that a small team such as Phil Parsons Racing got their much deserved time in the spotlight. We will continue to see big things out of this small team, and we have Reddit to thank.

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